


Keep On Dreaming

by EmmaB13



Category: Glee
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Eating Disorders, I promise nobody dies, M/M, Suicide Attempt, abuse/neglect, backstories, but with a lot more, kinda follows canon?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-13 18:55:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29905578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmmaB13/pseuds/EmmaB13
Summary: Cooper and Blaine are both seen as the talented brothers who are destined for great things. Nobody would ever guess what they'd been through.
Relationships: Blaine Anderson/Kurt Hummel
Kudos: 11





	1. Baby Brother

Cooper had always wanted a brother, but by the time he was nine, he didn't care so much anymore. He thought babies were annoying, all they ever did was cry. And by the time the kid is old enough to actually do anything, Cooper would be too old for it. But he acted excited when his mom told him anyway.

Pam had explained that she wouldn't be the one carrying the child, they would be using a surrogate. Cooper had no idea what that meant or why they made that decision, but he didn't think it was a good thing. His mother seemed unhappy about it.

What Cooper didn't know was that Cynthia, a friend of his father, Todd, who was also Cooper's favorite babysitter, wasn't actually the surrogate. She was the biological mother of Cooper's new brother, who was the result of an affair.

Cynthia had been babysitting Cooper for as long as he could remember. She and Todd had met in high school and dated for a while, finally breaking up when they went to separate colleges. Cynthia was a teacher, so she was always available when Cooper needed a babysitter. She usually let him stay up late and watch PG-13 movies. She was from the Philippines and would often make recipes she learned from her family that Cooper found much better than whatever his parents brought home after their long workday. Sometimes he wished Cynthia was his mother instead, she was much nicer and much more present.

One night after babysitting, Todd insisted that Cynthia stay for dinner. She agreed only after Cooper started begging. He loved Cynthia, and having her around tended to keep Pam and Todd from fighting so much.

While Pam cooked, Todd and Cynthia spoke at the dining room table. Cooper wanted to sit with them, but he was told multiple times they were having an adult conversation that he was just too young to be a part of. Cooper thought that was ridiculous, he was nine! He was practically an adult himself! But he knew better than to disobey. He went up to his room and did some homework, hoping he would be called down soon.

Dinner that night was unusually quiet. Nobody spoke, and whenever Cooper tried starting a conversation, nobody seemed interested. Pam would occasionally glare at Cynthia, who would give a shy smile in return. 

"Cooper, you're getting a new babysitter soon," Pam announced. 

"Why?" Cooper asked. "Why can't Cynthia stay? She's the best!"

"It's just better if she doesn't. You wouldn't understand."

Cooper crossed his arms, but didn't say anything else. He hated how much his parents underestimated him. He'd show them one day. 

After dinner, Pam and Todd stayed in the kitchen to talk for a bit while Cooper and Cynthia watched a movie together.

"Cynthia?" Cooper asked for a while.

"Yes, dear?" 

"Why do you have to leave?" He hugged his knees to his chest.

"Like your mother said, it's for the best," Cynthia replied. "But it's alright. I'll be with you until the baby comes, so we'll still have a few months. And then it won't matter as much that I had to leave."

"But-"

"Shh. Let's not worry about that right now." 

Cynthia wished she could tell Cooper everything. He deserved to know. And her son deserved to know who his mother was. But she'd only see him once, then she'd have to give him up. She knew they'd lie to him, he'd never know who she was. In a way, she felt like she was losing her family. She always thought of Cooper as the son she never had. Of course, she understood why Pam didn't want her around. That night with Todd was the worst mistake she'd ever made.

~*~

The next few months passed quickly. It wasn't long before Cooper was sitting on the couch, holding his new brother. He should be happy, but he wasn't. This meant he had to say goodbye to Cynthia, and he'd rather have her than a baby. 

"You'll be a great brother, Coop," Cynthia said. She had a small smile on her face, trying to hide the sadness in her eyes.

"Maybe," he said, looking down at the baby in his arms. "What's his name?"

"I don't know," Cynthia admitted. "Your parents named him, they didn't tell me..."

"That's stupid..."

"I know it is," she sighed. "I should go, your parents don't want me around you anymore. Goodbye, Cooper." She slowly stood up and took a long look at the boys before leaving.

That night, after his parents were asleep, Cooper reached under his bed and pulled out a small stuffed rabbit. Cynthia had given it to him a long time ago, but now that he was too old for stuffed animals, he didn't really want it anymore, but felt bad throwing it away. He went into the nursery across the hall. "Hey, Blaine. I don't know why I'm talking to you, because, well... You don't even know what I'm saying, and if Mom and Dad hear me I'm dead, but..." He put the stuffed rabbit in the crib. "I don't know if you're allowed to have this. But take it anyway, I don't need it anymore, and you deserve to have something from Cynthia. Now I'm gonna go back to bed before Mom and Dad wake up. And if they say anything about the rabbit, we don't know anything, got it?" He ran back to his room, quickly but quietly. 

Cooper couldn't sleep. He couldn't stop thinking about Cynthia, the only good thing he had. He didn't think it was very fair that she had to leave. His parents said his new babysitter would be the old lady who lived next door. He always hated her. She was boring, she'd just put him in front of the TV all day. And that would be the babysitter Blaine would have to grow up with. That poor kid would be miserable - not that Cooper cared. 


	2. Growing Up

**_Seven years later_ **

When Cooper turned 16, his parents decided he was old enough to babysit. While he was happy that old lady wouldn't be coming anymore, Cooper thought she was depressing to look at because she was just that old and now he'd have control of the house, he didn't want to actually have to do anything. Before, he could just stay in his room all day while the old lady somehow managed to handle Blaine despite looking like she was on her deathbed. But now, Cooper would actually have to help out.

Their parents were almost never home. They both worked long hours and had to travel often. Cooper didn't mind it too much before, but now it that he'd probably be in charge of cooking and getting them both to school, he wished they were home more. Blaine didn't seem to care at all that they were never home. He didn't even think of them as parents. They had never been present in his life. At least they had raised Cooper. They still worked a lot, but they'd come home at night and on the weekends. Both of them changed their hours seven years ago.

It was Cooper's first day babysitting. He was in the living room, watching a rated R movie. He'd never been allowed to before. No matter how many times he explained that he was old enough and the movies weren't even that bad, the old lady kept saying no. Blaine had been in his room the entire time. Cooper had given him a bunch of things to keep him occupied - toys, books, and movies. He hoped that would keep him busy until he fell asleep.

Eventually, Blaine came down into the living room, carrying the stuffed rabbit Cooper had given him years ago. "Hi, Coop."

Cooper quickly turned the movie off. "What do you want?"

"Can we do something?"

Cooper sighed. "What do you want to do?"

"I dunno... Play a game?" Blaine shrugged. "Ms. Bennet used to play games with me."

"Ms. Bennet...?" The old lady whose name Cooper never bothered to learn. "What game do you want to play?"

"Hm... Operation."

"You can play that on your own."

Blaine pouted, but went back to his room. Cooper did feel a bit bad, but he didn't let it bother him. He didn't like Blaine much and didn't want anything to do with him. It was his own fault though. He was the reason Cynthia left, he was the reason their parents left.

After the movie ended, Cooper went up to check on Blaine. He could hear him talking from down the hall. He looked into his bedroom and saw him seated across from the stuffed rabbit, the Operation board between them. 

"Who's winning?" Cooper asked.

"Bun," Blaine replied. "She's really good at this. My hands shake too much."

"Bun? Okay then..." Cooper didn't know that the rabbit had a name - and such a stupid one too - and he had no idea how it could possibly be winning. 

"You wanna play too?" Blaine asked. "Bun wants you to play."

"It doesn't want me to play. It's not real, it doesn't have feelings, it can't even be playing with you."

"But-"

"No buts," Cooper interrupted. "Stop being so stupid. And go to bed already. It's getting late."

"Okay... Can you tuck me in?"

"Aren't you too old for that?" Cooper asked. "But if it'll get you to shut up... Yeah, whatever." He put Blaine in bed quickly, then went back downstairs to watch another movie. It wasn't long before Blaine came in again. "What do you want now?"

"I had a bad dream," Blaine replied. "Can I lay with you?" 

"Yeah, whatever... Just go back to sleep. And don't talk." 

Blaine nodded and curled up on the couch with his head in Cooper's lap. Cooper turned the movie's volume down, keeping an eye on Blaine to make sure he was still sleeping. Cooper decide to sleep on the couch that night so he didn't wake Blaine up. It wasn't very comfortable, but he could deal with it for just one night. And he noticed that Blaine hardly ever slept through the night, whether he woke up from a bad dream or just had too much energy to stay asleep, so Cooper hoped he'd get up at some point so he could go back up to his room.

~*~

Their parents both came home that weekend. It had been a while since the entire family was together. Cooper was excited to see them, but Blaine didn't care too much. He stayed in his room, not bothering to greet them when they came home.

Cooper stayed in the kitchen with Pam while she cooked dinner. "So, how's your brother?" she asked.

"I don't know. He's always hiding in his room," Cooper replied.

"Try to get him to open up a bit, okay? Sibling relationships are valuable. You're lucky to have him. Make the most of it."

Cooper just nodded. He didn't care. Blaine was too young, Cooper didn't want to hang out with a seven year old. 

Meanwhile, Blaine was in his room, drawing a picture. Todd opened the door. "Hey, kid. What are you drawing?" 

"Me and Bun and Ms. Bennet," Blaine replied. 

Todd looked over at the drawing. For a seven year old, Blaine wasn't a bad artist. Todd noticed that he had written "family" at the top of the page. "That's not your family, kid. Your family is me, Mom, and Cooper." 

"You guys are never home, and Cooper doesn't do anything with me. Bun and Ms. Bennet are my family. They raised me better."

"Well, that doesn't matter. You can't choose your family, you know."

"I know," Blaine sighed, putting his pencil down. "But I wish I could..."

"Why's that?" 

"Because then I'd choose Ms. Bennet to be my mommy and Bun to be my brother."

"And me to be your dad?"

Blaine shook his head. "Don't need one. I don't have one anyway."

"Yes you do. You have me."

"But you're never even here!"

"It doesn't matter. Family is family, Blaine. And you know, I could disown you if I really, really wanted to. But I'm nice. Okay?"

"Okay..."

"Now, clean up. Dinner should be ready soon."

"I'm not hungry. I wanna play more."

"No. Clean up," Todd said, raising his voice slightly.

"Okay." Blaine cleaned up quickly, finishing just in time for dinner.

Pam and Todd kept talking to Cooper, ignoring Blaine. He didn't want to talk anyway, but he almost wished someone would acknowledge him. But he said it himself, he wasn't really a part of the family. He didn't know why nobody seemed to like him, he hadn't done anything to them, at least not on purpose. Sometimes he wondered why his parents had another kid, they clearly didn't want him.

After dinner, everyone was watching a movie together. Todd was in his big armchair, and Pam and Cooper were on the couch together. Blaine was small enough to fit comfortably on the couch with them, but he chose to sit on the floor instead. He kind of liked being a part of the family, it was much better than being alone. He still wished he could feel more included, though. He couldn't help but get sad whenever he saw Cooper laughing with their parents, while he was only forced to listen in on the conversation.


End file.
